05 Jul 2024  |   06:26am IST

Three cops suspended for labourer’s death

Mystery shrouds the death of Kanyakumar, who was interrogated by Ponda cops; he was dropped off by cops in a police vehicle; was found with multiple injuries in Loutolim and remained unidentified for five days

Team Herald

MARGAO: Three policemen were suspended following disciplinary proceedings in connection with the death of 32-year-old labourer Kanyakumar, a native of Bihar, whose body was found on the road in Loutolim on June 24. 

Those who have been placed under suspension are head constable Ravindra P Naik of Ponda Police station and constables Ashwin V Sawant and constable/driver Pritesh M Prabhu, both attached to SPCR, Panjim (Robot vehicle, Ponda). However, the labourer’s death is shrouded mystery as the police had earlier registered his death as a hit-and-run case, and after five days, on June 29, it came to light that Kanyakumar was interrogated by the Ponda Police the same night he was found dead.

Police sources told 

O Heraldo that on June 24, the Ponda police responded to a call about a person creating a disturbance. Kanyakumar had been called to the Ponda Police Station for creating a nuisance. After questioning, he was reportedly dropped off by the police in a police vehicle. However, questions have arisen as to where the police dropped him off and how he ended up in Loutolim in the middle of the night, where he was fatally run over by a heavy vehicle.

On June 24, a police inspector had informed Verna police about the body, but the call was redirected as the accident site was under the jurisdiction of Maina-Curtorim Police Station. The Maina-Curtorim Police team quickly arrived at the scene and transported the body to South Goa District Hospital, Margao, for a post-mortem examination.

Investigations revealed that Kanyakumar sustained multiple injuries, leaving police puzzled over the exact circumstances of his death. The police registered a case under Sections 279 and 304A of the IPC against an unknown person for rash and negligent driving, and assumed it was a truck due to the tyre tracks on the road.

Despite the case being classified as a fatal accident, the police are still perplexed about the sequence of events leading to Kanyakumar’s death. Key questions remain unanswered: how did Kanyakumar end up in Loutolim after being questioned by Ponda police, and who was responsible for dropping him off there?